Deputy Micheál Martin has already raised a most distressing case. Almost a month has passed since the House debated the urgently needed reform of An Garda Síochána. The Minister will recall that the debate was a bit of a farce in that the amendment tabled by my party was carried while every other amendment and then the substantive motion itself were all defeated. As such, the Dáil ended that protracted discussion with no clearly determined decision on this urgent matter. Nevertheless, there was a sense of unity in the Chamber on a couple of points during the debate. First, there was agreement on the need to provide the Policing Authority with greater powers to require the Garda Commissioner to implement the radical reform agenda set out in the inspectorate's report. Second, there was broad agreement on the need to establish a root and branch, or Patten style, review. Unfortunately and as is so often the case in relation to justice matters, which Deputy Martin highlighted, once the spotlight disappears so does the sense of urgency.

Almost a month has passed and we have yet to see concrete results. Indeed, six weeks have passed since we learned of the huge exaggeration of the breath tests. Almost three months have passed since we agreed on the need for the establishment of the Charleton commission and the first report of such a root and branch review emerged and was agreed. I must ask for an update on the progress being made because none has been presented to the Dáil to date. There are no Garda updates on the implementation of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate's reforms. Gardaí cite work pressures which prevent them from getting around to doing this. Last week, the Policing Authority made clear its frustration at the slow rate of progress on some of the significant reforms required. The Garda Commission must act now, as must Government. A valid concern has been raised about the proposed root and branch review which is that it will delay much-needed reform. Such concerns are given legs when more and more delay is evident and the review is put off. My question is straightforward and has been asked before. When will we see an establishment date for the reform commission, details of its chair and a timeframe for its report and the bringing of proposals to the House?

I assure the Deputy that there is no delay being put in the way of the establishment of the commission. It is a high priority for the Tánaiste. It is worth recalling that it was only on 11 April that it was agreed in principal by Government that such a commission would be established. We had a wide ranging debate in the Dáil and a lot of the issues raised were reflected in the approach the Government was taking. These include the broad base of the agenda it has, the structures and management arrangements, the appropriate composition, recruitment and training of personnel, the culture and ethos of policing, the appropriate structures for oversight and accountability and the legislative framework for policing. It is a broad-ranging approach and care must be taken to ensure that we do not in any way undermine the important work, which the Deputy recognises, of the Garda Síochána Inspectorate or of the Policing Authority.

Both of these bodies are not only growing in public respect but we can see the mark of the impact of their recommendations in some of the operational actions of the Garda. There is a long way to go, and everyone in the Dáil has recognised this and that there have been some really disturbing events which have led to the point where we are establishing this commission. It is coming at the right time. We are establishing this deep commission at a time when we have made significant progress. It would be churlish not to recognise some of the successes of the Garda in recent times. If we look at the crime figures we see substantial reductions in many crimes which have impacted on people's lives.

If we can believe them.

There is progress in the way the Garda is deploying and impacting on serious crimes affecting people. It is important to recognise the strengths and weaknesses that have been exposed. I am convinced of the approach of establishing a commission and making sure it has the right make up, in other words that its membership is drawn from those areas which will maximise its impact on the future of policing and, at the same time, that it recognises the success of some of the instruments of accountability and oversight we have put in place, and which Deputy Howlin has been party to, such as the establishment of the whistleblowers Act. We have a base on which to work and the Government regards this as a very high priority. The Tánaiste will revert when she has taken substantial hearings about the concerns that need to be met in drawing up the final terms of reference and presenting them to the Government and the Dáil.

I am even more confused. Is the Tánaiste going to embark on hearings?

Sorry, listenings let me say.

Is it listenings or hearings? The bottom line is the Minister listed out exactly the matters that were listed out in the Chamber four weeks ago. My question is what has happened since. Where is the inquiry? Who will chair it? How will it be constructed? We know the issues that need to be addressed. We debated them here four weeks ago. It is progress on these matters now that is required and we have not got this. I ask the Minister, simply and again, not to tell me what needs to be inquired into. We have had that debate. Tell me when the inquiry is to be established, how it is to be constructed, when it is to report and who will chair it.

Those issues will be informed to the Dáil as soon as the proper care has been taken to ensure the commission we establish-----

When?

-----has the ability to do its job to the maximum impact, and that is a priority for the Tánaiste and the Government. The Tánaiste has indicated she will return to the Government as soon as possible with the details. If we came forward with membership that was not adequate the Deputy would be the first to ask why X was not considered, why we do not have an international expert-----

Let us talk about it.

----or why we do not have various dimensions. It is important the Tánaiste takes the time to ensure this is right.

How long?

We are creating a commission that will design the future of the Garda, for the next century we may say. It will shape the future of this very important force that is integral to our community. It is right that we take the time to get it right. Of course, I can understand the urgency but we also have to take the time to get it right. The time that has passed since we debated this and set out the scope that the Dáil thought needed to be embraced by the commission is sufficiently short that the Tánaiste should be given this time to get it right.